The purchase of four new compactor garbage trucks is expected to solve more than 97 percent of the garbage collection problems in Ipoh, said Mayor of Ipoh, Dato’ Rumaizi Baharin @ Md Daud.
Rumaizi said that so far the Ipoh City Council (MBI) has added four new garbage compactor trucks, two of which are already in operation while the other two will be received soon.
“Right now it is going smoothly, if we look at it for this month (July), we expect the solution (garbage collection) to be around 97.5 percent.
“‘There are still 2.5 percent of areas that have problems. We have to remember that in Ipoh, there are approximately 230,000 commercial and residential holdings,” he said.
He said this at a press conference after the presentation ceremony of a computer donation from Theta Edge Berhad in collaboration with the MBI, to the Community Centre, at Dewan Azlan Shah yesterday.
When asked about the issue of the public’s complaints regarding garbage collection, Rumaizi explained that he is doing his best to reduce the issue.
“I’m not saying we can eliminate it but with the purchase of these garbage trucks, we are able to reduce the issue of slow garbage collection.
“Our main problem is not just the equipment but rather the lack of workers in the cleaning sector,” he said.
Commenting further on the issue of the lack of manpower, Rumaizi said that many people are still not interested in working in the sector, despite being well paid.
“Some say that the salary is not worth it, but we have already given many increases. The basic salary given is understood to be RM1,700 because now the minimum wage is RM1,500.
“The problem is not just the salary but the image of the job. There is a lot of competition from other jobs such as factories and so on, so many choose other jobs,” he added.
Previously Ipoh Echo reported that the operation of two new compactor garbage trucks not only launched more collection operations, but could also improve the image of the Ipoh City Council (MBI).
Rumaizi said, this is because most existing compactor trucks are in a dilapidated state and are not efficient to operate.
by Rosli Mansor Ahmad Razali
PLease do your job with zero fanfare and PR bs. It is taxpayers’ money and so is your salary.